Students may be mum Friday as part of observance against intolerance

Officials say some students may take part in a national observance against intolerance by refraining from speaking for the day, though it’s not a school-sponsored event.

Kelli O'Brien

Twelve years ago, 15-year-old Lawrence King — a student from at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, Calif. — was murdered by a classmate due to his homosexuality.

The initial response wasn’t an uproar at first, but later some students from the University of Virginia organized a “Day of Silence” for a class assignment on non-violent protests to remember the injustice.

Starting with 150 participants, the event ballooned, with around 500,000 students from 4,000 schools throughout the country participating in recent years in a vow of silence throughout the school day, taping cards to themselves to explain their actions.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) — a national organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression — became the event’s official organizer in 2001, the main goal being to “inspire change so that such a tragedy and others like it never happen again.”

A few area high schools, while refraining from participating as a unit, will have several individuals observe the event Friday in school.

Administrative officials were bombarded with questions regarding the event, as their respective schools were listed on a Web site (not on the Day of Silence site) as being official participants.

Canandaigua Academy Principal Lynne Erdle issued a statement in response to the inquiries.

“We have received many questions and concerns regarding Canandaigua Academy’s participation in the upcoming Day of Silence,” she said. “It appears that our school has been signed up on a Web site as an official participant. The Academy has no formal club that is organizing this event, nor have we signed up for participation. However, we are aware that individual students may be choosing to participate; while this is within their rights, we will not allow this to interfere with their educational process.”

Mike Chirco, acting superintendent for Marcus Whitman schools, also said the Day of Silence is not organized by the district, though there will likely be a small group participating at Whitman. He had never heard of the event until this year, when he received a call from a parent of an elementary student after seeing Whitman on the list of participants.

“This was before I came here, but four years ago, a number of students did participate for the day,” Chirco said. “Students have every right to do this, and there may be students this year (participating). I expect that teachers will not make an issue of it if students do decide to do it.”

Chirco, who worked at Dundee Central prior to Whitman, said that while he has not witnessed hostility or intolerance from students at either school, he is aware that it’s out there.

“Undoubtedly, there are people that feel that way (towards homosexuality),” he said. “I have not witnessed it, however.”

According to the Day of Silence Web site, the event is about safer schools, tolerance and positive change, though a few organizations opposed to it have joined forces in another event, the Day of Truth.

Started four years ago by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group that has marked its purpose as defending religious liberty, the event occurs several days after the Day of Silence.

The Day of Truth, also a non-violent protest, is stated as “exercising our constitutionally-guaranteed right to freely and publicly express our religious viewpoints,” according to www.dayoftruth.org. This year’s observance will be held on April 28.